There is no cost to stay at the PlySpace residence and work in the studios at PlySpace and the Madjax building. If accepted to the program, residents will receive a $500 travel stipend, paid half upon arrival at PlySpace and half at departure. Some residents may receive additional funding for supplies if they are selected to participate in the program as a PlySpace Fellow. Fellows must be in residence for 9-12 weeks.

Paid by artist

Residents must pay for all food and meals, personal expenses, art supplies, project supplies, and any other costs that they incur that are not covered by the $500 travel stipend. Some projects might receive additional funding on a case by case basis. Applicants must also pay an application fee of $25 - $40 USD, depending on the date of application. Residents must hold their own health insurance policy or must pay for their own healthcare expenses and must be able to pass a background check. International residents must also be able to acquire all necessary visas, passports, or documents to be in the United States for the entire residency period.

Application guidelines

All digital applications must be submitted via Submittable and must pay the submission fee fo $25-$40 USD. The submission fee cannot be waived and emailed applications will not be accepted. Applicants must submit one pdf document that includes the following 6 items as part of the PlySpace Residency Application. All applications must be in English:

Professional References: Names and contact information for two professional references

Anticipated Length of Stay: Residents may stay between 4 and 12 weeks. Please indicate your desired length of stay as well as any specific arrival or departure dates, if necessary

Personal Project Proposal (up to one page) that outlines: The personal or collective project you want to work on while at PlySpace; What facilities, equipment, or other resources are necessary to complete your objective?

Community Collaborative Project Proposal (up to one page) that includes: Which community collaborator categories are you interested in working with? Why are you interested in this collaboration? What would your community collaboration entail? How much time will you need to spend on your collaboration in order for it to be successful? What facilities, equipment, or other resources are necessary to complete your community collaboration?

Muncie Arts and Culture Council

Muncie Arts and Culture Council

PlySpace Residency Program

Description

The Muncie Arts and Culture Council is the official “Arts Partner” for the City of Muncie, Indiana. As Arts Partner, they integrate the arts into municipal initiatives that involve Economic Development and Quality of Place. As an arts alliance, they strive to build community among artists and arts organizations, and be a resource that enables professional growth and opportunity.

PlySpace is an artist-in-residence program in Muncie, Indiana, that is dedicated to offering visual artists, writers, performers, designers, and other creative individuals time and space to investigate and pursue their own practices. Additionally, it serves as a platform for experimentation and provocation by catalyzing conversation and collaboration with various Muncie communities. PlySpace facilitates opportunities for residents to engage with the public through partnership and programming that is tailored to their area of interest. The residency is fully funded with a $500 stipend for travel. They are now accepting applications for the Fall 2018 term, with flexible residency periods from 4-12 weeks beginning in mid-September.Residents reside at the PlySpace Residence which includes private bedrooms and shared or private bathrooms, as well as communal work/gathering space. Residents also have use of a full shared kitchen but will need to provide their own food and meals. Each resident has 24 hr access to their own studio in the Madjax maker space across the street from PlySpace, and limited access to facilities and equipment at the Ball State University School of Art. The School of Art can accommodate a wide range of artistic practices. Residents will also have the opportunity to connect with the community through public lectures, studio visits, open studio hours, and other events during their stay.In addition to providing residents with dedicated time and space to investigate and pursue their own practice, PlySpace serves as a platform to connect visiting residents with local organizations in order to facilitate collaborative projects that benefit the citizens of Muncie as well as the program residents. Applicants are asked to propose a personal project as the primary focus of their residency as well as a community project to be completed in partnership with a local non-profit organization or community group. PlySpace will assist each resident in refining their proposed collaboration and connect them with an appropriate community organization.

Outcome

All artists are expected to complete a personal project and a public/community project. PlySpace is unique in that part of its mission as a residency program is to connect residents with community partners in order to facilitate collaborative projects that benefit the citizens of Muncie, as well as the residents. There is no better way to do this than to harness the creative disciplines brought to the community by PlySpace residents. Residency applicants should submit a proposal outlining what they might like to do as part of a community collaboration. The proposed collaboration should be something that can be completed within the residency term and will require a minimum commitment of 5-10 hours of time per week during each residency period.PlySpace will assist the residents in refining their collaboration ideas and connecting them with an appropriate community organization. The community collaboration can be part of the resident's studio or professional practice, or can be a stand-alone project. They are interested in ideas that create conversations, initiate social contemplation or change, and are accessible to the public.

Accommodation Information

All residents and fellows will be provided with accommodations on the second floor of PlySpace, a post-victorian house built in 1916, in the Emily Kimbrough Historic District of downtown Muncie, Indiana. The living quarters will include a private bedroom, private or shared bath, a shared living space, shared laundry facilities, and a shared full kitchen. Meals are not provided as part of the residency, though there will be a group dinner once a month hosted by a PlySpace affiliate. The lower level of PlySpace is home to the offices for the Muncie Arts and Culture Council as well as PlySpace project and exhibition space. The living quarters have a private entrance which is separate from the public areas and designed to offer artists quiet, personal space within a vibrant artist environment. All spaces have both air conditioning and heating. PlySpace is within walking or biking distance of numerous bars, restaurants, cafes, stores, outdoor parks, recreational trails, and Ball State University.

Studio Information

Residents are offered a “white-box”, lockable, semi-private studio space on the second floor of Madjax, a makers' center for innovation and design. Madjax is a converted industrial uniform factory located across the street from the PlySpace Residence. The individual studios are roughly 200 sq ft with 8 ft tall partition walls, a lockable door, a window, drop-down outlets, basic lighting, heating, and will be furnished with a work-surface and chair. There is a community sink that is used by all MadJax studios on the first floor. The spaces do not have air conditioning but have large windows with a nice cross breeze in the summer. The studio spaces allow artists to pursue their own work in a clean, quiet space while also offering the opportunity for collaboration, discussion, and critique. There are other working artists, designers, and creative professionals in the building. The studio spaces are best for practices that do not require silence (since the building is shared with other artists) and do not require constant access to water or personal sinks. The studios do not have power tools or spray-booth spaces for strong smelling chemicals, so these should also be avoided. Residents are also given limited access to the facilities at Ball State University School of Art, which can accommodate a wide range of artistic practices. Applicants to the program should be clear about what kinds of equipment they will need to complete their projects.

Location

Muncie is a small midwestern city of about 50 thousand local citizens and an additional 20 thousand students at Ball State University. It is known for its glass manufacturing history and was the birthplace of the Ball Glass Corporation which produced glass jars for canning. It is located in central Indiana, about 60 miles from Indianapolis and 80 miles from Fort Wayne, and is accessible by car and bus/shuttle. The nearest airports are located in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Dayton and Cinncinnatti, Ohio. Chicago is about 4 hours away by car. The PlySpace Residency is situated in downtown Muncie, a small, quaint area filled with parks, small stores, restaurants, and businesses. The residency is located in the Emily Kimbrough Historic District and is close to the trailhead for the Cardinal Greenway, a 70 mile scenic bike path.